I decided to grab the EA Premier Access to try out Anthem. And, it's unfortunately pretty bland when it comes to what the game is actually about: loot cycle. Loot comes to you as a vague blip of some degree of rarity and is later revealed at the end of the session in a big grid. So, you never get that feeling of "I accomplished THAT and that's how I got THIS." You just watch your stat number increase incrementally until the end game, when it actually starts to matter. Supposedly.
Flying around playing Iron Man/War Machine feels great... until all story progress halts while you complete a series of menial tasks that you've already done during quests, missions and quick play but haven't done yet in free play, so do those now, please, and be quick before others gank that treasure chest. Then, flying around feels like and actually becomes a chore. It's a bummer because the vistas are genuinely inspired, but you're incentivized to blow right by them all.
The world is unique, but the attempt to hold the story back to pique interest makes the narrative feel like a series of deidentified platitudes. The Heart of Rage is something you kind of know about, but really don't, now watch people dance around the topic while they speak to your unnamed, faceless character about all of the things he/she knows, but you don't. There's also a huge disconnect between narrative and gameplay that occurs when you squad up with 3 other people and then watch as the story completely drops them from the picture, then picks them back up in time for the shooting and the looting.
Certain weapons and abilities feel good. Others don't. Sometimes, like in the case of the Ranger's spark beam, you're forced to use the one that feels bland and lifeless because nothing else performs even closely. Honestly, it's looking like that's the story of the entire class of the Ranger.
I'll leave with this: I had a perfect opportunity to skip work and play this all day today. I'm currently typing on my phone while on the good, marginally cleaner toilet in my office building.
